# Stored fields getting deleted upon partial update of the document in elastic search **URL:** \ **Category:** Elasticsearch\ **Created:** [August 3, 2023, 7:39am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/stored-fields-getting-deleted-upon-partial-update-of-the-document-in-elastic-search/340011 "2023-08-03T07:39:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jagadeesh12](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/jagadeesh12/32/124186_2.png) [@Jagadeesh12](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Jagadeesh12)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2023, 7:39am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/stored-fields-getting-deleted-upon-partial-update-of-the-document-in-elastic-search/340011/1 "2023-08-03T07:39:28Z")
Hi. I have an index which have stored fields in the documents. But, upon updating the document with new fields (partially update), the previously existing stored fields are getting deleted. 1. Create the Index ```auto PUT itf_test_index { "mappings": { "_source": { "excludes": ["inference*", "metric*"] }, "dynamic_templates": [ { "inference_fields": { "match": "inference*", "mapping": { "index": false, "store": true, "type": "text" } } }, { "metric_fields": { "match": "metric*", "mapping": { "index": false, "store": true, "type": "text" } } } ] } } ``` 1. Create a document ```auto POST itf_test_index/_create/1 { "imageName": "123.jpg", "attribute_1": "Cat", "inference_1": "inference_1" } ``` 1. Result of \_search at this point ```auto GET itf_test_index/_search { "_source": ["*"], "stored_fields": ["*"] } ###### "hits": [ { "_index": "itf_test_index", "_id": "1", "_score": 1, "_source": { "imageName": "123.jpg", "attribute_1": "Cat" }, "fields": { "inference_1": [ "inference_1" ] } } ] ``` 1. Updating the document ```auto POST itf_test_index/_update/1 { "doc": { "metric_1" : "metric_1" } } ``` 1. Result at this point ```auto GET itf_test_index/_search { "_source": ["*"], "stored_fields": ["*"] } ####### "hits": [ { "_index": "itf_test_index", "_id": "1", "_score": 1, "_source": { "imageName": "123.jpg", "attribute_1": "Cat" }, "fields": { "metric_1": [ "metric_1" ] } } ] ``` Here "inference\_1" is not available any more. What exactly should I do at step 4 to preserve existing stored fields? Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Jagadeesh12](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/jagadeesh12/32/124186_2.png) [@Jagadeesh12](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Jagadeesh12)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2023, 7:40am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/stored-fields-getting-deleted-upon-partial-update-of-the-document-in-elastic-search/340011/2 "2023-08-03T07:40:09Z")
I am using Elastic search v8.9.0 ---
**Author:** ![DineshNaik](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/dineshnaik/32/89308_2.png) [@DineshNaik](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/DineshNaik)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 2:08am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/stored-fields-getting-deleted-upon-partial-update-of-the-document-in-elastic-search/340011/3 "2023-08-05T02:08:33Z")
Hi @Jagadeesh12 If you want to preserve the stored fields during updates, you will need to reindex the entire document by using the `_index` API. This involves fetching the entire document, making the necessary modifications (including the new field), and then reindexing the updated document. Here's how you can achieve that: 1. Retrieve the existing document using the `_source` field. ex: `GET itf_test_index/_source/1 ` 2. Modify the retrieved document by adding the new field(s) you want to update along with the existing fields you want to keep. ex: `{ "imageName": "123.jpg", "attribute_1": "Cat", "inference_1": "inference_1", "metric_1": "metric_1" }` 3. Perform the `_index` request with the modified document to reindex it. ```auto PUT itf_test_index/_doc/1 { "imageName": "123.jpg", "attribute_1": "Cat", "inference_1": "inference_1", "metric_1": "metric_1" } ``` ---
**Author:** ![Jagadeesh12](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/jagadeesh12/32/124186_2.png) [@Jagadeesh12](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Jagadeesh12)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 4:32am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/stored-fields-getting-deleted-upon-partial-update-of-the-document-in-elastic-search/340011/4 "2023-08-05T04:32:40Z")
Hi @DineshNaik , Thanks for the reply. I get that I can re-index by fetching the entire source and stored fields, but that's exactly what I am trying to avoid. Elastic search allows partial update on \_source (where it clubs new fields with existing \_source), but how come it doesn't allow the same on stored fields? Why does it have to delete the existing stored fields? ---
**Author:** ![DineshNaik](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/dineshnaik/32/89308_2.png) [@DineshNaik](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/DineshNaik)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 1:12pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/stored-fields-getting-deleted-upon-partial-update-of-the-document-in-elastic-search/340011/5 "2023-08-05T13:12:32Z")
If your primary concern is to avoid re-fetching and reindexing the entire document, you might consider using the \_source field instead of stored fields for fields that require partial updates. However, this might increase the storage requirements, so it's crucial to carefully evaluate your use case and the trade-offs involved. When you perform a partial update on the `_source` field, Elasticsearch can efficiently merge the new fields with the existing `_source` JSON. However, when it comes to stored fields (stored in `doc_values` ), there is no efficient way to do a partial update and merge them with the existing stored fields. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/1/a/1ac57faf039f6b580b3f104ef42a2a89e41014de.png) [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2023, 1:12pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/stored-fields-getting-deleted-upon-partial-update-of-the-document-in-elastic-search/340011/6 "2023-09-02T13:12:39Z")
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